Adaptation
by Thewatcherobserves
Summary: When the continuing crisis facing Vulcans spirals, Spock, Uhura and Kirk must make a choice - will they adapt or be overrun by the events unfolding? This provides alternative canon to the story "Opposite of Logic" by K. Elizabeth. Second POV story about Vulcan resettlement. And yes, there's a love story in it as well. Kirk/Uhura, Spock/Uhura
1. Chapter 1

**Adaptation  
**by Ma Anders

**Author's Note**: _As promised, this tome provides the divergent history for my other stories - it is my "Opposite of Logic" replacement canon. If it bears any resemblence to Ms. Elizabeth's wonderful story, I take full blame; the ideas that story provokes continue to swirl in my creative unconscious. _

_My take on that time differs substantively from OoL in this way: to my mind, neither Sarek nor Kirk would be passive in the acquisition of their wants. Their "presence" would be felt in any situation they were involved in; they "fill the room" and neither is indecisive. Both men have similar mantle's of leadership and the ability to step outside their traditional roles to get things done. Just consider the hubris of a human wife or the bravado of provoking a commanding officer into a fist fight. This story accepts these men for the aggressive personalities they exhibit and follows the collision of their drive for success with love in all its forms. What are they willing to destroy to win? _

_I've also taken the time to lay out ideas regarding Spock's choice to move towards koh'linar rather than towards his human side. I think that canon points to at least one believable reason a half-human child would chose the most severe ends of the achievement spectrum: bullying. Spock moved the venue for engagement, to my mind, intentionally. He was going to out-Vulcan his Vulcan tormentors. The scene in ST2009 where Spock recites how many attempts have been made to elicit an emotional response from him stayed with me. Why were __Vulcan__ children allowed to do this? So did Sarek's response - which I consider wholly inadequate; after all, Spock did not create his own DNA. As a child, how do you protect yourself when those in authority - outside and inside your home - do not protect you? Spock, a genius in his own right, reasoned out a path to effect his own survival._

_Read it. Let me know what you think. Criticism and debate are welcome and encouraged. And thanks for hanging in there - I'll get this writing thing right yet... _

_I hope...  
_

* * *

**Whispered Shouts**

_Sarek listened._

"Ambassador. There's a report of 12 more suicides on Denoba IV. Apparently they were all member of the Science Academy assigned off-world. Their children had been left with relatives on the home world..."

10,000 Vulcans, 12,000 at most, had survived the planetary cataclysm that consumed their home world. Every drop of Vulcan blood became more precious.

_Sarek listened._

"Ambassador, I know Denoba IV may be beyond even your formidable range. Have you heard... Can you give us any indication where to go?"

_Sarek listened._

"Ambassador, can you predict where the next suicides will occur?"

_Sarek listened._

With an uncharacteristic sigh, the council administrator left the room.

_Sarek listened to the silence and heard the screams of his people's anguish._

* * *

**Vulcan Science Academy**

**File: 52420-914320-91514**

**CLASSIFIED: Council Access Only**

**A fundamental question following the destruction of the planet concerns the persistence of the Vulcan racial assets, or conversely, their risk of extinction. The current risk will be influenced by a numer of factors including interaction amongst the remnant, traits specific to the Vulcan race and various random (stochastic) processes leading to decreases in population census.**

**Conducting the Vulcan remnant viability analysis involved many steps, starting with the identification of the best suited extinction model and fitting the data. The last step, interpreting the veracity of the model results drove the work discussed in this paper. Explicit formulae have been developed to predict the mean time to extinction.**

**Within the science community unanimous agreement exists that Vulcans, as a unqie genetic race, have reached a population size at the extinction threshold. This threshold occurs at that point where any loss of population will lead directly to extinction. To survive this apex event, the remnant must colonize/repopulate at a rate greater than the calculated extinction rate. The population bottleneck - the sharp reduction in population caused by the destruction of the planet - places the census within the modeling domain of small populations. This specific area of analysis looks to major determinants of species survival:**

**Demographic - Reproductive and mortality rates influence the rate a population approaches extinction. Random events have a greater impact and can cause extreme fluctuation in population size, both beneficial and detrimental. Gender skewing, the production of significantly more offspring of one gender, and infertility represent three significant risks within this modeling domain **

**Genetic - Loss of genetic variation looms as a significant threat to racial survival. Homozygosity, the proportion of remnant offspring expressing a single trait for dominant and recessive traits, increases the risk of significant birth defects and disabilities. Many defective alleles are only harmful when homozygous. If left unchecked, homozygosity can lead to genetic drift, the instantiation of specific disabilities as commonplace within the remnant gene pool thus leading to extinction due to lack of viable offspring. Inbreeding, with its inherent drive toward homozygosity, can be addressed through the introduction of mixed race Vulcan breeding partners into the remnant. Caution should be taken to limit the number and kinds of such reproductive pairings; dilution of the Vulcan gene expression could be result in genetic extinction ahead of predicted extinction dates...**

* * *

Sitting in is council office, Sarek could not slow his heart for the first time since he was a small child. The report seared his mind, creating panic and pain, horror, depression and exhaustion. In his lifetime he could see the extinction of the Vulcan race.

His first action was to call a meeting of his most trusted staff. Mentally he sighed behind tightly constructed shields; many who had been with him since his marriage to Amanda had been lost to the cataclysm. But for Spock's quick action to alert the planet and Lietenant Uhura's impeccable Vulcan, not even these he would meet with would have been saved.

Shaking himself out of memory, he began a long, detailed discussion on the plan to save Vulcan. Not just New Vulcan but _all_ of Vulcan wherever it may presently reside. He assigned himself responsibility for devising a repopulation plan for the remnant. To his charges he delegated the first huge step; he instructed them to get possession of two of the many huge moons orbiting Deneb V - now known to the remnant as New Vulcan. Sarek needed room, room to incubate the rebirth of the Vulcan race.

Within the week his staff returned with geologic, meteorologic and agricultural information critical to his developing plan. At its destruction, Vulcan supported the most advanced civilization within traveled space. The Earth might be the home of the Federation and its space-born saber known as Star Fleet, but it was a Vulcan fist that held the saber. Romulus knew that any serious attack on Federation space would see the arrival of Federation star ships backed up by Vulcan technology, weaponry and strategy. Humans were good at riding Vulcan strength out to the edges of the universe to challenge any threat - real and perceived. They were useful in this regard as it left Vulcans free to pursue a life of situational non-violence and intellectual questioning. Space-faring races deferred to Vulcan and its human pit-bulls. Would that deference continue, Sarek wondered.

When they concluded the days of work and review, the decision revealed itself unambiguously; Sarek would pursue the acquisition of the two closest moons at the earliest time. And if the government of New Vulcan lacked many resources or bargaining chips, that mattered little; Sarek had trained a lifetime for this crisis. His skill would improve the survival probability for his entire race.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pledge**

With one side dish left to cook, she couldn't find a clean pot. Maybe switching quarters with Spock hadn't been such a good idea; all her cookware remained in her quarters. Seconds of thought yielded an alternative.

When she'd planned the evening she'd forced him to swap quarters with her; his place was bigger and she'd need the extra room for cooking. Thanks to a favor from Sulu both were off duty today and the next two days; she'd needed every minute today to prepare and she suspected they'd need every minute after to recover.

Tonight was their anniversary. 4 years ago she'd "persuaded" him to take their relationship to the next level. It had been a first for both, a fact that made their bond almost unbreakable though they didn't know that at the time. Vulcan culture placed an emphasis on longevity but tended to have few celebratory rituals like the one she had planned for Spock. He'd been chasing her a long time by Vulcan standards. Hours of thought in the Dim Mak training room he designed for her made up her mind: she would marry him if he asked again.

With the table set and the foods in their serving bowls, she rushed to finish her hair. Spock would be exactly on time and she wanted everything perfect. She was setting the last curl when the door chimed. Why it hadn't let him in intrigued her; it was _his_ door. She entered the living area, sending "Come" to the door. When it opened, there he stood just outside holding a huge bouquet of African daisies. Spock waited intentionally for her to open the door. Her joy rewarded him.

"Come in! Spock, they're gorgeous! Thank you!" She took the bundle from him to the kitchen to find enough receptacles for the blooms. Her love of flowers and plants had forced him to buy two vases but these were presently occupied with tea roses.

"Spock, I need to go to my place for -" Turning, she grinned; he carried four glass vases from her quarters in his arms.

"You've thought of everything!" she laughed, a sound he loved to hear. Grabbing the vases and a quick kiss, she made short work of clipping the stems and arranging the results around the room. At the final location he stood behind her, enfolding her in his arms and brushing her neck lightly with his lips. He cued his anniversary playlist without her notice. Music subtly filled the space.

"You wore them in your hair. They matched your top. You showed me how to weave them into a crown. Did you think I had forgotten?"

_No._

_K'diwa?..._

_Well...I wasnt sure. They are beautiful. How did you get them?_

_I contacted your mother._

He had to be lying. But Vulcans can't lie. Except Spock Prime.

_Why didn't she tell me when I spoke to her the other day? _Uhura had been in a panic waiting for the ingredients she needed for tonight's meal, especially the African cacao powder. Her mother pulled strings to get them expedited to her.

He turned her around to face him. Reaching in his pocket he removed a small box that could only contain one thing. Uhura gasped and looked up at him.

_She consented to keeping my secret. As did your father when I asked his permission to marry you._

That's why she loved him. Intertwined with his love for her was the worst case of nerves she'd ever experienced from him.

_You told me you wouldn't ask me again, remember?_

_All I await is your answer to my original request. You know my heart in this matter._

Her smile told him her answer and he relaxed, bringing her into his arms. They danced, a skill many would be surprised to discover Spock excelled at.

They only made it through the appetizers, spicy and loaded with cacao. Spock decided dinner could wait but he couldn't. In anticipation of their celebration she'd skipped her routine Sick Bay visit. It would be a great wedding present.

* * *

One week after their anniversary the invitations for the wedding went to the entire crew. One envelope sat unopened in the recipient's quarters.

Kirk required no additional reminders of another lost opportunity.


	3. Chapter 3

**Brinksmanship**

Sarek needed Spock. Again. The remnant would swallow anything Spock poured them. And Sarek needed them to swallow deeply without questioning.

Spock's proximity and quick thinking had saved the core of what it meant to be Vulcan. Blessed/cursed with eidetic memories, the Vulcan Elders, such as remained, were presently ensconced in the Vulcan embassy on Earth painstakingly regurgitating Vulcan knowledge while begging for every favor Earth or the Federation could provide them.

Sarek was not on Earth. In fact, he'd made it a _point_ not to be on Earth. Saving Vulcan would not be accomplished spending hours and hours for days and days talking into recording devices or using neuro-capture headcaps. Vulcan had huge problems that required a different approach. He'd finally secured from the P'lthins some of the real estate necessary for Vulcan preservation with Spock's help.

Sarek did not trust the Federation. Federation emissaries had responded with compassion and generosity but Sarek understood them well; the sight of hungry children and homeless families on their news vids affected their constituents greatly. Charity contined unbated to the refugees and to New Vulcan. But behind closed doors, as the situation transitioned from humanitarian crisis to nation building, the Federation became a circumspect, indecisive political body with a short memory regarding Vulcan's staunch support. Sarek understood human politics well, they called it "the art of the possible". Sarek was not on Earth because he did not have time to be turned down; he wasn't asking permission, he was taking over the management of the survival of the Vulcan people.

Sarek's quarters on Deneb V had been specially designed by him to support his new roles as the face of Vulcan - and, of course, the father of Vulcan's savior. Anyone who looked carefully would have noted the slightly greater thickness of the walls on two sides and the complete lack of windows. If one were curious, one might ask about the door that seemingly led to the next office but led, in fact, to an escape tunnel in case the council offices were attacked. Sarek's office reflected the new reality for the Vulcan remnant: they were naked and alone in the universe not knowing who their real friends or enemies were. Someone with metallurgical knowledge might have noted the special fabric covering the walls. Providing beautiful texture and color to the walls, it also shielded the office's inhabitants from psionic eaves-dropping.

Unfortunately the fabric must have been defective; Sarek contuned to experience every suicide on every planet where a remnant survivor once lived.

* * *

**Vulcan Medical Academy**

**CLASSIFIED: Council Access ONLY**

**The destruction of Vulcan remains unprecedented in the annals of the Vulcan peoples. In its wake a wide range of mental and physical outcomes continue to challenge medicall staff. The Vulcan Medical star base at Epsilon Eradarii continues to treat unprecedented numbers of attempted and completed suicides from across the remnant population. **

**Within the first month after the destruction of Vulcan, over 20% of the Vulcan remnant population reported acute functional impairment - the inability to conduct daily life or perform necessary tasks. Within six months these reports had grown to 32%. Numbers for both these periods were higher for males than females by a ratio of 6.3 to 3.7.**

**While adrenaline production and uptake changes have been identified as a component of the brain chemistry changes identified during brain scans, its affects do not completely explain the phenomenon. Specifically, the biochemical changes associated with suicidal depression in the remnant are not - based on research to-date - mitigated by Vulcan conditioning and training. Despite the need for more research into the mechanisms of the disease pathology, necessarily constrained resources have driven a decision to focus on treatment. Preventive measures cannot be considered until sufficient resources exist to investigate the deficiencies in Vulcan preparation and training...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Change**

Spock looked like a man needing to be rescued. In the middle of the Mess Hall after dinner, he sat with samples of fabric all over the table and all over his lap. Around him sat his fiance, really bond mate, and every female crew member on the Enterprise. They insisted he participate in selecting the fabrics for the wedding. Unable to say "No" to Uhura he found himself surrounded by squeals, "ooh"'s and "ahh"'s. He would miss the weekly poker game. His appreciation of poker rose with each passing minute.

Fortunately, McCoy came to the rescue. A man with four ex-wives, McCoy had long ago honed the skills for getting women to do his bidding - or at least to get out of his life and take his money with them. McCoy convened a posse to rescue their friend before his brain turned to pink mush. Sweeping into the room they separated: Scotty took the women on, Chekov grabbed Spock and McCoy and Kirk took on Uhura. It was a reflection of McCoy's genius with women that he had sense enough to assign two men to Uhura. As a diversion, the posse made a great show of their dissatisfaction with the schedule conflict with the poker game. The women were so busy arguing that they didn't realize Spock was gone until he was well out the door.

Spock thanked them all the way to Jim's quarters. Shifting the game had also been part of the plan. It would take Uhura some time to decide to retrieve or confront Spock in Kirk's quarters. In the intervening hours, his friends could rattle his cage about the wedding and the upcoming subjugation he would suffer at her hands. The first break in the action came during the refill time. McCoy fretted over the absence of bourbon. He'd had concerns when he assigned refreshments to Scotty, but how could Scotty _ever_ forget to bring enough alcohol - the real stuff?

"Scotty, where's the bourbon? We're out!"

"Canae be, laddy. I brought as much bourbon as scotch and there's still 2 bottles o' scotch. Nobody drinks faster than me. You're just not seein' it." Scotty had a point; nobody could put it away faster than he could and McCoy had been drinking Tennessee sour mash. _How much bourbon has Jim had? _ he considered.

Walking to his quarters for more bourbon, McCoy speculated on the circumstances that required Jim Kirk to anesthetize himself in bourbon.

* * *

The priority message came in almost 3 weeks after the anniversary celebration. Deneb V, also known New Vulcan since the completion of the P'lthin negotiations, had declared a diplomatic emergency. Star Fleet was compelled to transfer Commander Spock to New Vulcan. Sarek, father of the hero of the Vulcan remnant, signed the communique.

* * *

Spock kept his dissatisfaction with the transfer to himself.

His research into the current situation on New Vulcan yielded no intelligence indicating an emergency. Sarek had been a diplomat a long time; intrigue and craftiness were highly developed skills; the P'lthin negotiations were proof of that. Uhura might believe that Sarek machinations stopped at the threshold of the family but Spock wasn't so sure.

All his life, Spock considered himself an "experiment", a way for Sarek to prove that his decision to follow his heart and marry Amanda Grayson - against his own father's wishes - had not been a mistake. Spock, a product of the genuine and intense love between them, was the lab rat in the multi-cultural experiment. In the begining, life had been good when he was a very small child. He thought he'd learned that, despite his father's reserve, underneath was love. Ultimately it was Amanda Grayson who put her mark on Spock, loving him unconditionally through all of Sarek's diplomatic assignments.

Things changed dramatically for Spock when his father decided the family should return to Vulcan for Spock's education. Amanda had her reservations but she was a wife before she was a mother, a house divided and all that. They returned to Sarek's home world and enrolled their small, outgoing, intelligent son in the schools on Vulcan.

The taunting began Day 1. Spock, used to living on other worlds and interacting with the dependents of embassy staff, could not defend himself from the barbs hurled at him; he didn't understand many of them. He learned their meanings quickly. He also learned that adults will not save you when you are different. The teachers disdained Spock's tears, teaching him that logic would determine the truth of the insult - if it were false, logic would ignore it; if it were true, logic would use it as the basis for self improvement through meditation and reflection. But there was never a reason for tears or anger. He must, in their words, control himself.

By the equivalent of Earth's second grade, he was coming home bloody several days a week. He stiffened himself to make the long, lonely walk through the gauntlet, hoping his father was off planet. If Amanda were home alone, he would close the door and run to her, crying for all he was worth. She understood him. Gently cleaning him up she would listen to the horrible things done to him and help him work through strategies for the next day. She would sit with him on the divan, stroking his hair, and singing songs from the better days before Vulcan.

What little relief she gave him ceased the day his father came home unexpectedly and witnessed Spock's post-bullying ritual with Amanda. The lecture on "emotional control" that 7-year-old Spock received was shorter in duration than the beatings from the bullies but had the same effect; never again would Spock knowingly reveal his heart to anyone. Not even his mother. No one could be trusted to protect him. He would always be alone.

With no friends and no prospects Spock threw himself into his work. He accepted his fate to live a solitary life without companionship or love (except from his mother when he admitted it). He taught himself martial arts and by his 14th birthday it was rare for anyone to challenge him in groups of less than 3 bullies; with three or less the odds were in his favor. He beat them at the things that mattered now: math, physics, philosophy, celestial mechanics.

He developed a formal and rigid relationship with his father, so closeted and distant that they could barely communicate telepathically for much of Spock's childhood. Spock's successes were not his own even then. Each success brought respect and accolades to Sarek, the man who raised a genius child despite the handicap of his DNA. Amanda loved him as always, but he withdrew from her, afraid that proximity would give away his true mind and secret heart.

He became translucent, chimera. No one knew who Spock was. He was safer that way.

Then she enrolled in his class. Cadet Uhura impaired his concentration from the minute his eyes followed her long legs to her seat the first day. She had a disconcerting habit of looking directly at him when they spoke, causing his knees to give way. Unfairly, he resorted to Sarek's methods to force her out of his class and conscious thoughts - holding her to a higher standard than the rest of the class, assigning her advanced work when she completed assignments too quickly and too well. To his surprise, she devoured the work and the attention from him that came with it. Uhura eventually devoured him too, removing years of carefully laid emotional armor - sometimes compassionately and sometimes with the wrecking ball of her anger and frustration with him. She became his teacher. He was a work in progress; that was ok with her as long as he made an effort.

In a year she became his teaching assistant. A year later, on a very special night, she became his first and only.

Tonight had been special as well. She cleared their schedules for the day and the night so they could be together before he left for New Vulcan and he took full advantage of his time with her. When she turned in sleep, he spooned behind her laying his arm and hand across her midriff. Careful to maintain control, he reminded himself of her fatigue from their lovemaking. Idly caressing her midriff as she slept, he resolved that if they had children he would love them as his father had not.

Spock did not wake her when he left; instead, he gently kissed her and placed a tea rose from the vase on the pillow on his side of the bed. He hoped that would be enough to keep them both until he returned for their wedding in a few weeks.

In the coming months, he came to regret his decision to let her sleep.

* * *

Sarek's basic plan entailed a rock-star tour to all planets with Vulcan remnant populations headlining Spock as the main attraction. Once there, Spock, the savior of the remnant, gave scripted lectures on the Elders' plans for the repopulation of the Vulcan people and their relocation to the New Vulcan constellation.

Spock was interviewed, photographed, and quoted within the remnant community ad nauseum. Everyone knew he left the Enterprise to speak with them and to them. Vulcans, being who they were, deduced from this that whatever was being asked was important and necessary. What limited questioning occurred was quickly dealt with by the entourage of handlers Sarek sent with Spock to every tour site.

Midway through the tour, Spock balked; he could find no reason to continue behavior he found abhorrent. With no genuine crisis looming, Spock flatly refused to go on.

Resistance led to the first real communications between himself and Sarek since his pre-school days.

After much evasion and posturing Sarek delivered his private data archive of the reports he had compiled. Spock studied the materials.

Sarek's notes said:

_**With 1100 breeding pairs, Vulcans sit on the Lande threshold for extinction. One virus, one earthquake, one tilt of the male/female ratio and Vulcans as a distinct peoples will disappear. The Vulcan creedo "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" will turn into a death knell as Vulcans looking for solace and companionship in the wake of incalculable loss increasingly bond to non-Vulcans... **_

Spock understood the implications of that first hand.

1100 pairs if the statistical gender ratio held. How many were bond mates was unknown. If Vulcans didn't solve this problem, the next settlers to the system formerly known as New Vulcan, would be xeno-archeologists and grave robbers.

Trauma and depression threatened to reduce viable pairs even more from suicides.

One unexpected consequence of the cataclysm had been secondary infertility associated with post traumatic stress. Documented pregnancies were experiencing spontaneous miscarriages at a rate exceeding 42 percent. At this rate, Vulcan's remnant population would not replace itself . Without successful intervention, the Vulcan remnant's predicted extinction dates range between 40.49 and 82.17 years Federation standard. The universe might hold no Vulcans in as little as 50 years time.

Spock understood now just how bad bad would get. He still disagreed with Sarek's plan; as a diplomat, Sarek's logic did not reason through the science behind the problem; Spock's did. Another option held more promise and a chance to get him home sooner rather than later.

His bond to Uhura would not suffice as an excuse to avoid the sacrifice of marrying a Vulcan wife. The entire remnant looked to him as the example of how to survive. Sarek counted on this when he meticulously planned the response to the extinction threat. Spock would have to complete the tour and he would have to marry.

On tour he became an icon, with remnant survivors imitating his every action, every decision. Sarek maneuvered him into a marriage Spock did not want because it provided another iconic moment that would be repeated over and over again by a people who needed a role model and progeny.

He would go through with this charade to ensure the real heros of Vulcan repopulation did the same. Sarek was unaware of Spock's deception; he hoped Spock would quickly produce offspring and return to the "Vulcan's First" fold. Spock, on the other hand, needed cover to do the real work to save the population and return to Uhura. On the surface, the marriage would seem to serve the goals of both.

Spock allowed himself to feel anger; had Sarek provided him this data before, Spock would never have done this tour. Spock should have spent that time working towards a real solution.

_Damn, Sarek_. Spock was the lab rat again.

When Spock returned to New Vulcan at the tour's completion, he was a hero for a third time upon the announcement of his marriage. It would be the first to be televised within the remnant Vulcan diaspora.


	5. Chapter 5

**Despotism**

As the Vulcan ambassador, Sarek had been party to many sensitive, critically important negotiations between his people and others. To his mind, the completed P'lthin negotiations ranked #2 all time.

Sarek and the Council appreciated the generosity of the P'lthins. When Spock Prime suggested a world in the P'lthin system, the council did not allow themselves to hope that this would be the place. Many worlds took Vulcan refugees; few offered more than temporary respite. Despite their small numbers, Vulcans would remain a formidable political and military power throughout the known galaxy for some time. There were those happy to know that much of the apparatus supporting Vulcan's prominent place in the galaxy had been cut out from beneath them. With the P'lthins, the Vulcans found a home, neighbors posing little threat and room to grow. Sarek's master plan included the continuous acquisition of more room to grow.

It did not bother Sarek that he had prioritized exploitation of the P'lthins' lack of sophistication or their developmental state as a society. Vulcan survival in the universe was at stake; logic dictated aggressive actions. If they were pre-atomic, that bode well for a Vulcan peoples trying to rebuild from scratch. The absence of local threats eased the work necessary to rebuild the Vulcan military and science assets to protect themselves from distant threats, threats the Federation did not have resources - or sometimes the resolve - to address. The P'lthins would benefit from New Vulcan's proximity and its advancement, once New Vulcan restored what Old Vulcan had lost. The P'lthins were a friendly, growing society; all that Sarek had planned for New Vulcan would carry their P'lthins friends along as well - so long as they let Sarek have his way. It remained the best and most logical choice for both civilizations.

Sarek's persuasive maneuvering was not limited to the P'lthins. Through sheer force of will and charismatic manipulations Sarek tirelessly bullied the Vulcan Council to concede to his reasoning. He was honest enough to admit all he'd learned from humans and one of their greatest lessons was their ability to be decisive in a crisis. Vulcan decisions required a more measured velocity that traversed many thought paths and considered innumerable options. Nero's voyage through the center of their home world forced an accelerated pace of planning and decision making. Of the council members, only Sarek had spent a lifetime preparing for the leadership of haste. He moved from member to member, in and out of chambers, to ensure that his plans, his thoughts remained at the forefront of their choices. Exhausting as it was for the middle aged career diplomat, it remained necessary to get his plan implemented.

And, of course, the complete immersion of Spock as the face of this plan ranked among Sarek's best gambits.

Among the Vulcan survivors, only Spock, Sarek, and his tiny staff knew the real reasons behind his push for more land in this planetary system. Sarek saw the coming cataclysm: population growth was the big problem. Grisly math accompanied the facts; 10000 Vulcans universe wide (a number reflecting his optimism and his panic). 37% beyond the expected breeding age; 40% not yet at the expected breeding age. Of the children, many had not been ritually bonded; Sarek estimated as many as 63.9% fell into this category.

The reality was there were not 1100 breeding pairs but closer to 750. 591 of the 2300 remnant population of child-bearing age had lost bond mates. Those who had not replaced bond mates before Pon Farr were among the ones evidencing the highest suicide rates. Since the destruction of the planet, 32.9 percent of Vulcans experiencing Pon Farr have attempted suicide. Of those who attempted suicide, 69.2 percent succeeded.

Infanticide accounted for the for the second highest cause of suicide. Of the 10,495 remnant population 1.677 family suicide deaths had been documented. 511 of these suicides were of child-bearing age and maturity.

Extinction became the sword of Damocles swinging ominously over every Vulcan's head. To Sarek's mind, Vulcans needed to initiate his breeding program for Vulcan repopulation immediately.

**Vulcan Science Academy**

**File: 52420-914320-91514**

**CLASSIFIED: Council Access Only**

**Extrapolating from Gillpin's and Soulless minimal viable populations classifications, Vulcan viability extinction vortices fall in the near term within the R and D categories. Specific threats can be formulated as:**

**R - Initiated when a disturbance lowers the population size and increases its variability. As applied to the Vulcan remnant, the most visible evidence is the disruption of sex ratios associated not only with the cataclysm but with the prevalent suicides occuring in the disparate communicates where remnants presently reside.**

**D - Initiated when a population decreases due to spatial (read:geographic) dispersion into small, isolated communities. Vulcan remnant populations currently exist in this fragmented dispersal pattern spread in non-viable population sizes throughout alpha quadrant as refugees...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Remedy**

As much as he did not want to, Spock recognized the moment of truth. It was time to notify James Kirk that a sabbatical would be required. And that he was getting married but not to Uhura. If he could have, he would have told Uhura himself, but he could not risk their connection forcing the truth out of him. He needed to shield her from his father's duplicity and his own intent to resolve the problem outside of Sarek's proscribed solution.

Funny; now everybody needed the "half-breed son of a human whore". Among the remnant were a number of his most talented and relentless childhood tormentors. He'd engaged in discussions with them regarding the known and unknown about the suicides. A classmate had lost their bond mate to trauma-induced depression; an Academy member on Spock's admission board lost his eldest daughter during her Pon Farr. Spock would not remove the sentiment rolling through his brain - _Your bullying and bigotry made me smarter._

Steeling himelf to delay no further, he walked the long trek to the home of his older self. Unlike Kirk, he did not anticipate the collapsing of the universe, assured because he did not seek knowledge of the future. He came seeking comm equipment outside of his father's control. He meant the conversation to be private.

Spock Prime greeted his younger self warmly. Spock made his request and was shown to the "other" comm equipment. Something made Spock change his mind; he asked for an audience with his older self, which Spock Prime graciously granted.

Spock rehearsed his conversation with Kirk, telling his older self his real intent and how he would meet their father's demands without ruining his own life. Spock Prime seemed to know about his bond with Uhura. Spock summarized his Pon Farr experience. Then he revealed his entire plan in detail. Spock Prime listened patiently and carefully, refraining from comment until the end. He spoke three sentences that set everything in motion.

"I agree with you. Father is wrong; you're right. Good luck."

Spoke rose, nodding his head in acknowledgement and thanks, and re-entered the secure comm room.

Spock Prime sat intently thinking on all his younger self had revealed. He had his own communications to make when Spock we done. In the mean time, he would attend to his hot house. There was always time for thought in the hot house.

* * *

Spock placed the priority call through to Kirk. He knew Kirk would be in his quarters - it was what passed for night on the Enterprise. Spock fervently hoped Kirk was alone; there was no way of predicting how long this would take. Kirk answered, the sleep still in his eyes.

"Spock. What's going on? Why are you on a secure channel? Where are you? You're supposed to be back here tomorrow, wait - today."

"Captain, I am requesting a sabbatical. I must remain on New Vulcan for an indefinite period of time. The crisis here continues to expand. I cannot over-emphasize the risk to the colony."

"Spock you're there on a diplomatic emergency mission - that's the highest level mission short of war or a terrorist event. You don't need to take a sabbatical; just come back, get married, and take Uhura with you. I'll grant her the leave. It's not like either one of you ever takes any. Just come on back and get married or I'll never get this ship back in order."

"Jim, I am getting married tomorrow - "

"Good. Uhura's gonna be frosted all her plans went to -"

"Here. On New Vulcan. To a Vulcan female."

Kirk parsed his words: he wasn't returning and he was marrying a "Vulcan Female".

"Spock. I understand as much about the bond between you two as any non-Vulcan can. You love Uhura. She feels the same. She damn near scorched her own wiring to save you. Your wedding's in a week. Come home."

Spock closed his eyes to regain the ability to speak.

"Jim. I cannot convey to you the level of crisis here. To save my people, sacrifices must be made. No one is exempt. Especially not an ambassador's son."

Spock didn't mean to expose it, but Kirk had a hunch Sarek's manipulative plans lay deep in the middle of this. He always had his puppet master hand firmly up the opening in Spock's back where his spine should be. At least that's how Kirk saw it.

"Let me remind you, Spock, that we sat at her beside in the HOSPITAL because of that emergence forced on her BY YOU when she dove in to YOUR HEAD to save YOUR SANITY. Do you remember Epsilon Eradarii or is it just another day in the life?"

"Do not believe I make this decision lightly. If New Vulcan's needs extend beyond 6 years I will cease to exist because she has my bond. I am compelled, Jim, compelled to resolve this crisis. **I have no choices without casualties**."

Kirk considered Spock's words before speaking.

"She's given up more for you than you deserve. Starting in that hospital."

The statement shocked Spock in hyper-attentiveness.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I know how to read a medical PADD just like the next guy. Have you told her?"

The topic changed to the one Spock did not want to confront.

"Jim, If I could ask a favor. I cannot..." _Geez, _ Kirk raved, _when is he going to get a clue?_

"Could you please tell her? I cannot... I cannot bring myself..."

"Sure, Spock. I'll break off your engagement for you. You understand what this means, don't you?"

He waited but Spock gave no answer.

"It means she's a single woman again. She's free to date whomever she chooses."

His heart unprotected, Spock made a last request. "Take care of her."

Without any further niceties, Kirk terminated the communications and considered how long he would need to wait before courting his best friend's former fiance.

Spock stared at the silent console for some time. He understood he was playing a dangerous gambit but Sarek left him little choice. If he were unable to successfully execute his own plan to save Vulcan's remnant population and return to her swiftly, he could take refuge in the fact that he'd provided a soft-landing for Uhura with a man who never broke a promise.

* * *

The faster a splinter is removed the less pain in the long run. This splinter needed immediate surgical removal.

Kirk lived for a day with his ambivalence. Spock would be back one day and Uhura might still be on the Enterprise and single. Kirk seriously contemplated changing the single part. Star Fleet did not send captains out with wives; they considered it too great a distraction. But Kirk had busted most of the trends and convetional traditions up to now, why change? As long as Spock and Uhura were in a loving relationship Kirk could suppress his own desire as a might-have-been. Spock changed all that when he broke their engagement and asked Kirk to tell her. Spock crossed a threshold Jim Kirk wasn't going to let him uncross.

After scheduling her off for a few days, he used the ruse of checking her quarters for the next occupant. She wasn't supposed to need them once she and Spock were married. Announcing himself, he entered.

He'd never seen her so happy. Boxes of wedding stuff mingled with boxes of stuff she slowly moved to Spock's quarters. Of higher rank, he had more space - and fewer possessions - so it made sense to transition to his place. She'd taken to sleeping there while he was gone.

"Just move the boxes and grab a seat" she said as she slid boxes to make room.

"Hey, hey, hey! Let me help you with that. Oomph!" Kirk took the box from her and felt his abdominals fight against the hernia the box was creating. Clearing a space, he patted the couch next to him for her to sit. Her glow was obvious; she was ready to be married.

"I got a call from Spock last night..." he started.

For the next five minutes he tried to explain, from the few details he knew, why Spock would not return, why he did not call her and why he would be married by nightfall. When she screamed he grabbed her and held on for dear life.

He carried her to her bedroom when she'd exhausted herself in grief and he slept on the couch that night and many more until she stopped crying publicly. Scotty, concerned for her, suggested they key her door for entry by Kirk and he approved it, regulations be damned. He wasn't a threat to her; when they came together, he wanted her willingly.

With Spock out of the picture, there was time again.

Sulu made the apologies to invited guests regarding the wedding's cancellation. With Chekov and Scotty, they disposed of all the fabric, invitations, decorations and those gifts they couldn't return or that crewmates didn't have the heart to take back. Scotty developed an ingenious method for getting rid of the leftovers: he transported them into nearby space during targeting drills for the weapons systems. Within a few days of the cancellation announcement, she returned to find the content of her quarters moved to Spock's larger rooms. The Poker Posse repainted the rooms in colors from her childhood.

Within the week Kirk contacted her parents. She had stopped taking calls as word of the wedding's cancellation made its way through her family. Without revealing the details, he told her parents that Spock had been involuntarily assigned to support an emergency diplomatic mission on New Vulcan, that the mission was classified and that his return was predicated upon successful completion of the mission. He committed to keeping them informed on her welfare. He made a pledge to her family to look after her during Spock's absence. He promised her father, on his Star Fleet oath, that he would take care of her.

* * *

Spock Prime left the greenhouse to make a call of his own. Long before the visit from his younger self, he'd been considering this option. He vehemently disagreed with Sarek's approach, although he empathized with his dilemma; how could he not, having made the mistake that led to Nero's rampage and cost Vulcans their homeworld and their sanity? Acknowledging that reality did not change his reasoning on Sarek's plan. Desperation led Sarek down an unsustainable path - even if success seemed within their grasp. Many formerly great civilizations had failed the test Sarek now faced.

The balance of power for space-faring nations shifted under the ground they stood on; for Vulcan's remnant to survive, the calculus of power would have to change.

Spock Prime quickly regained access to his private comm setup and placed the secure call. She answered quicker than he expected, which concerned him. Seeing his concern she spoke in a soothing manner.

"Serendipity benefits us both. I accessed my console just as your call came through."

"Are you alone?" he asked levelly, giving nothing away.

"Yes." Her ears, attuned to his cadence and pitch, knew that the moment had arrived.

"I will be arriving at our place in 15 days standard. Will you be there, _k'diwa?"_

Her modest smile gave him the only answer he needed. With warm regards he closed the connection.

Removing himself to his desk, he created the list of items to pack for the trip. He might be gone over an earth month. Checking the list twice, he made sure to place a rush order with his favorite company on Earth for a can of peppermints and a large case of the confection known as chocolate. At his present age, he could not exactly calculate how much chocolate it would take, but he knew - from his younger self - that it would work. He left a reminder to pack the orchids right before the flight. He wanted them fresh when she arrived from Romulus.

Vulcan had many paths to the future. Spock and Spock Prime stood on two distinct versions of them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hope**

"You have to tell Jim. Now."

Uhura had been dreading this conversation since McCoy had confirmed her suspicions a month ago. Unfortunately, something about Spock's half of the DNA incubating inside her gave her nausea and vertigo almost as bad as that she experienced during her empathic emergence. Neither McCoy nor M'Benga had ever revealed her prior pregnancy to her or to Spock; it ended in a miscarriage. Her stomach faired no better in these first 2 months this time around, forcing her to leave the bridge 7 times in the last month seeking Sick Bay.

_Damn, Spock_! she fumed. _He __**would**__ go off and leave me alone and pregnan_t. The truth, however was not so simple. He'd left contraceptive decisions up to her a while ago. She'd just picked the wrong time to stop getting the sprays; she'd planned this as her wedding present surprise for him.

Tears welled up. The situation on New Vulcan didn't look to improve anytime in the next decade. This baby might be all she had of him despite their "bond".

McCoy, mistaking her tears for frustration at his medical orders, tried again.

"We've got a long time to get this baby here. You need to start accommodating his wishes. Have a few more spoons of this boiled rice and some more crackers. I'm calling Jim. Relax. That's an order... and advice."

Giving her hand an affectionate squeeze, McCoy left her momentarily to page Kirk to Sick Bay. She heard bits of it: "Sick Bay", "Uhura" and "Don't rush".

McCoy clearly forgot who he was paging. In what seemed only seconds, Kirk burst through Medical's door, locked on her location and sprinted to her bedside. Kirk, a psi-mute (though there were times she wasn't sure), made the mistake of grabbing her hand and the room tilted. Uhura's tenuous control of her stomach broke when his panic hit her. It was all she could do to turn her head before emptying all she'd consumed in Sick Bay all over the floor.

"Dammit Jim! Get away from her!" McCoy shouted as he bolted out of his office. More gently than his words, McCoy supported her as she transferred to a different med-bed, tenderly cleaning her face before he turned on Kirk.

"Why they let you command a star ship I'll never understand! How many times have I told you - 'Jim, she's an empath and a telepath. **DON'T TOUCH HER UNTIL SHE TELLS YOU TO**!' If I didn't need you here I'd throw your **ASS** out **RIGHT NOW**!"

Chastened, Jim blinked to keep his own temper in check. Remorse emanated from him mixed with the panic he barely contained.

"It's o.k., doctor. He's scared to death, don't ride him too much."

Jim moved closer to her new bed to thank her, although he knew she felt his gratitude. Walking past the display he took a quick peek at her chart. He figured it out; the look on his face was unmistakeable.

"You're PREGNANT?! When did this happen? Spock's been gone.."

"5 weeks, 4 days and 17 hours..." she finished in a near whisper.

"Has he gone INSANE? He can't go through with that 'arranged marriage'! Not now, not when - " And then he saw her, overcome with grief at their separation and crying silently but uncontrollably.

"Uhura, honey; I... It's just... He doesn't deserve you. You are out of his league." That got her smiling, if with a touch of sorrow.

"It's nice to know I can still turn a man's head. Especially one I just threw up on."

"You missed. You think you're the first girl who's tried to throw something at me?"

"Girl!?" she shot back at him with serious attitude, her eyebrows raised. Kirk chuckled to himself, _Still feisty_.

He quieted, staring at her. Placing a finger inches above her abdomen, he asked her, tentatively,

"May I?"

Her nod gave him permission to touch her. Frustration with Spock broke through (although she wasn't sure if that was Kirk's or her own), so did Kirk's happiness for her and for... himself? Noise originating in McCoy's office prompted his quick withdrawl, but not before she registered her son's fuzzy attempt to reach the man who'd just touched her.

Kirk made a mental note to contact her parents if she did not. They would want to know and he wanted to get off on the right foot with them.

McCoy returned from his office with her dietary recommendations.

"Bones, what's the plan?"

One side of McCoy's mouth rose; the captain was back having regained his composure.

"She's going to need revised duty hours and -"

"Done" Kirk cut him off before McCoy was finished.

"AND she's going to need some help along the way."

"Why?!" Uhura injected indignantly. For the women in her family, having babies was as natural as breathing.

"Because I don't want you carrying or moving or pushing anything unless it's carrying this baby to term, checking to see that he's moving or pushing him out when it's time - and not before. Understand me, Lieutenant?" McCoy knew the whole story concerning Spock's departure, including the parts Kirk had not revealed to her. His eyes hadn't left Kirk's during his speech. Kirk didn't need empathy or telepathy to read McCoy's mind: _Take care of her._

"It's a boy?" Kirk grinned like an idiot, completely flustering Uhura.

"What are you grinning about?" Uhura shot back at him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Life**

She was cooking the first time it happened. Jim walked into the kitchen to set the table and she started, surprise written on her features. He quickly contemplated whether to walk her or carry her to Sick Bay when she smiled.

'What's happening Uhura? You're scaring me. Should I do something?"

"No-no-no! The baby just kicked. Right as you walked in. Ah!" Another kick.

The look on his face perplexed her. He'd never been this confusing to read. "Jim?"

He stuck out a finger and asked quietly "May I?" In mock exasperation she grabbed his entire hand and placed it over the site of the kicks. The kicking sped up and gained intensity.

"Hmm. Adrenaline transfer through touch. That's new. I think he's trying to tell you something." she laughed. Had she been paying attention, Uhura would have noted the expression on his face. She felt the jumble of emotions he sifted through.

"Jim? Is something wrong?" she prodded quietly. He cleared his throat.

"Nothing. Baby's got a strong kick." She pretended not to notice his rapid blinking as they ate.

Over the next few months she learned most of his favorite foods. Kirk's food choices ran towards the pedestrian so she slowly introduced more daring versions into their menu. Someone had let him get away with never eating vegetables - a huge transgression in the Uhura household - so she taught him the trick of eating them first and saving his favorite meal items for last. They didn't eat dinner together every evening and she didn't always cook but the bigger she got the more he made sure she ate well.

He began to observe her intensely when they were alone together. Folding the laundry or cleaning up after dinner, she noted his attention; deep set ocean blue lenses following her actions. If asked, Kirk could reveal the first day he saw her baby bump - she still dressed in pre-maternity clothes then, as well as all the star dates of the many times she'd sent him on a wild goose chase for pickles, birthday cake and okra or something equally disgusting. He became an expert on her habits, her likes and dislikes and her moods. He used this information to anticipate, to make this pregnancy and their time together memorable - in a good way.

Their first serious argument came when he finally saw her exercise routine. She had slightly modified the Dim Mak course Spock set up for her. She tried to get there 4 or 5 times a week. It was a private, quiet place where she could mourn for her bond-mate and for their relationship. Most of her Spock-related decisions had been made here: the decision to marry, the decision to get pregnant, the decision not to tell Spock about the baby once he got drafted into the "Vulcan race purity" program (as she called it), the decision to stay on the Enterprise despite the memories it held. When Kirk charged in under a full head of steam yelling at her to stop, he discovered Uhura had claws and fangs. The shouting lasted 20 minutes before Jim suggested a time out to cool down both tempers. With her own anger under control, Uhura felt his abject terror that she would lose this baby, though she could not glean what drove it. They came to an accommodation: they would let McCoy modify her routine every week or two until she delivered.

He told her parents about the pregnancy and vowed to see her through it. Each week or two he kept his promise to her father to keep them updated as to her health and the health of their new grandson. Privately, Kirk made it a point to let her father know that Spock was the father. He would also add updates about Spock for her father's ears only; it was easy - he hadn't heard a thing. Again he promised her father he would take care of her and the baby, for the rest of his life if needed. He was relieved when she finally revealed the news. Her father and mother kept his secret communiques their secret.

Fluctuating hormones made dealing with Uhura's Spock situation tough. Homicidal thoughts ran through Kirk's mind whenever she cried over Spock. He soon learned that his rage increased her despair, so he worked hard on being balanced about it and in time she stopped crying as often, although he suspected her grief lay not too deep below.

One of Kirk's fondest memories was the day she asked him to zip her unform, a uniform that would no longer stretch over that belly. After struggling with it for 5 minutes, he collapsed in laughter and declared her belly the winner. The more she fretted about her clothes not fitting, the harder he laughed. To his thinking, pregnant women got bigger; Uhura's issues with her clothing made no sense to him at all. But it sure pissed her off. He left before she got too upset, dialing up the ship stores on his way to the bridge and having maternity uniforms, the comfortable ones like those on the research vessels, sent to her quarters. He made it a point not to smile on the bridge over the next week.

They went to every pre-natal check-up together right up to the Sick Bay door. Kirk had misgivings about being next to her during the pelvic exam. McCoy would retrieve him from the corridor for the imaging so they could experience the pictures together. When Uhura got emotional, like the time they got a clear picture of the baby's Vulcan ears, he held her and let her know they were in it together.

If the crew wondered about their relationship it remained very quiet speculation. Uhura's sense of it was they felt quite the opposite - their appreciation increased; they were proud of their young captain for rescuing one of their own during a tough time. McCoy and Scotty were convinced that most folks had the roles in the rescue scenario reversed.

McCoy fully endorsed the changes in Kirk. Day by day the hard-drinking, hard-loving Kirk he'd roomed with at the Academy receded and a new, more thoughtful, less devil-may-care Kirk took his place. Kirk's gunslinger instincts were still there and in full effect on duty; at shift's end, though, he left them on the bridge to become a real partner to Uhura. Scotty had seen it as well. Just two days ago Kirk invited them over for dinner - Uhura was teaching him to cook for himself. They'd all laughed when she recited her litany questioning how Kirk grew past 2 feet tall when he never ate vegetables. Surprisingly, Kirk did a good job - with occasional help from Uhura.

McCoy wasn't blind - Spock's exit from her mind and heart was far from complete, even Jim admitted to that. But there was no mistaking the bond that strengthened between them each day they spent together. And the results were tangible; Uhura and her baby were doing better than he'd expected medically. McCoy secretly held out hope that after the birth Uhura would be able to move on and would choose Kirk to move on with.

At the weekly poker game, where real alcohol loosened many a sotted brain and unfiltered mouth, they found support. Kirk was grateful that she had lots of caring help to get through each month's highs and lows. Sulu taught her Asian meditation - a less exhausting, more calming form of the activity. He also taught her tai chi, a gift she was thankful for when she got too big for her Dim Mak workout. With Spock gone and Kirk at Uhura's beck and call, Sulu became acting first officer - the man in the chair, handling the captain's duties professionally and competently. Pavel the Adorable, made her laugh when she needed it most. Pavel recognized her moods and always had a funny quip in that incomprehensible Russian-accented Fed standard of his. Scotty proved a God-send; month after month he and Keenser created new inventions to make life in her quarters easier as she got bigger. The automated bed was a keeper. Because she got really big.

By the halfway point in Uhura's pregnancy they had established an easy rhythm to daily life. If she had not yet decided to cast Spock off for him, that could wait; they were on this adventure together. She became as comfortable staying in Kirk's quarters as in Spock's. When bridge duties detained him, she left his dinner for him, ready for reheating. She planned a party and baked him a motorcycle cake for his birthday. The crew all chipped in to buy him an antique Norton motorcycle to trick out. Uhura was the only living person he'd told of his desire to own one of Earth's classic rides. Very late that night in his quarters, after the party and a lot of bourbon, Jim admitted he'd never had a real birthday party before. "I know" she told him.

Evenings at home were Kirk's best times.

Jim's favorite subject, beyond all others, was propulsion. Figuring out how to make objects move faster than designed brought childish glee to his face and devilment to his mind. Nearly half of his near-misses and all of his legal entanglements (that weren't alcohol/fight related) involved speed of some kind. She came to appreciate just how brilliantly his mind worked in multiple subject areas: physics, quantum mechanics and string theory, mechanical design, chemistry and electronics. He definitely came from the "a rock with wings will fly" school of life. He had tons of design ideas for increasing the Enterprise's top cruising speed - if Scotty would let him near the engines. Listening to him talk about the physics of warp reminded her of slam poets riffing on a phrase back in the San Francisco cafes near Star Fleet Academy.

Musical evenings restored him. She always sang or hummed some song fragment no matter what task she set upon. Sometimes she would laze on the couch, exhausted, singing nonsense songs (Vulcan lullabies, if Kirk had known) and rubbing the active occupant inside her to calm him down. But he particularly loved the nights when she sang songs from Africa for him. Uhura had a hauntingly beautiful voice that took him to all the places at home that she loved. He would lay on the floor at her feet as she sat on the couch and drift off to her singing. Before she got too big to be comfortable there, it was not unusual for her to fall asleep on the couch next to him having already sung him to sleep.

He went ape when she worked too late or too much. She pushed back on his "Me-man, know-best" antiquated atitudes about pregnant woman.

He kept her sane; she kept him happy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Duty**

**Author's Note:** _This chapter has given me grief for weeks. It eats at me emotionally because I have to hurt these characters to make them real despite the fact that I like them a lot. So be forewarned: Aggressive (maybe violent) editing may occur before this prose settles and I can stop crying every time I change it._

Having taken care of loose ends on board the Enterprise, Spock began the visible and invisible parts of his commitment to save the remnant from extinction.

Their wedding became the most talked about event in the remnant population. Spock suffered under the weight of his betrayal of Uhura. That this marriage furthered his plan to return to her did not change its impact on his psyche. Mid-ceremony his mind was not in the chamber with his bride, the family and guests. Instead it focused on Sarek and his role in the unravelling of Spock's hard-won happiness. Indulging his human side as never before, Spock silently vowed to have the discussion with Sarek that should have happened at his mother's death. Amanda Grayson's death, despite the trauma it caused to Spock's core, released him from the obligation to remain civil with his father. The irony was not lost on him that Uhura's love had given him permission to be who he was - both Vulcan and human.

Sarek had overseen every aspect of this theater. Their house, as an example, sat only minutes from the council headquarters ensuring constant attention from journalists covering the remnant's recovery.

For weeks Vulcan journalists interviewed and photographed them daily, reducing his already circumscribed life to fish bowl proportions. Details of their lives that would have breached etiquette before Vulcan's demise now made for inspirational news to the remnant. Spock would have rebelled visibly if it hadn't been working. Vulcan-Vulcan marriages between non-bonded pairs occurred at rates unseen in modern history. And they were relocating as fast as accommodations became available to New Vulcan, NV-Alpha or NV-Omega. Slowly, the reconstitution of the Vulcan race began in earnest. News among the remnant shifted from the events leading to marriage to those that normally followed: the arrival of offspring. The results wasn't promising yet.

With the touring over and the Vulcan paparazzi at more of a distance, Spock got down to business, so to speak. For weeks during the lull in investigative reporting about his life, cargo vehicles arrived delivering huge unmarked crates. If no one questioned their contents it could be attibuted to the worshipful blindness within the Cult of Spock. For now, he could do no wrong. Spock used every ounce of leeway and benefit of the doubt to initiate and implement his secret plan. He had an unlimited budget from the New Vulcan depository and so far no one demanded an accounting of his actions. That worked for him as well; he was in no mood to answer to anyone - especially Sarek.

Every day he took an African daisy from its stasis bag amongst his personal belongings and deftly fingered it. His sensitive nose could still detect her scent on the stem; he'd placed it behind her ear before celebrating their anniversary in a most satisfying way.

* * *

Days were easier. Most mornings found Spock collapsed from exhaustion on top of his lab bench in the basement of their home. Within the first crates to arrive, the high security doors and security system ensured his complete privacy. Awaking, he would exit to the main living quarters upstairs, pausing only to complete the ablutions of hygiene. His "wife" prepared breakfast every day for him. She was a good cook and even in Spock's state of obsessive singular intent, he noted her efforts to please him. It took her only days to control her reflexive recoil from his habit of kissing her forehead.

After brief discussions during their short courtship, she began to experiment with off-world spices. Spock's double-dipping salary from both New Vulcan and Star Fleet meant she could access ample credits to obtain the items she thought would please him. While he slaved in the lab, she slaved on the PADD, researching everything he mentioned and incorporating it into their life together. If she were going to be married to an icon, she reasoned, he should be a content, satisfied icon. Her youth prevented her from realizing that she could never satisfy him, not in the ways that mattered.

Breakfast provided her the best opportunity to converse, to get small nuggets of information that could be used to deepen and broaden their relationship. If he were hard to read and introspective, that came with the territory. She knew herself to be more quiet, far less forward since the loss of Vulcan. Cousins, aunts and uncles perished in a single instant. Her mother remained hospitalized until her wedding, suffering from trauma related depression; she returned home with her father to find her mother slicing her own arms in long, thin cuts. She understood time would heal him and she resolved to take the time to help him heal. They did not communicate telepathically. They had no bond. At least, as she considered it, not yet.

* * *

Despite her optimism, she saddened at the memory of their honeymoon. While she did not consider herself one of those flighty, romantic types, she had speculated on what that special night with her mate might be like. Her child bond had been alive then and while they were not passionately committed to each other, the were close and maintained a friendship during the intervening years. He survived the destruction of Vulcan only to perish during Khan's devastation of San Francisco; because of Spock's heroics, he'd opted for Star Fleet Academy. Spock's irritation at their lack of privacy carried into their honeymoon evening. He was not unkind; she appreciated how thoughtful he was regardless of the stresses placed upon him. But the next morning, two people with the best of intentions found themselves on opposite sides of a chasm. Only one of them cried; it wasn't her.

For now they juggled the unenviable tasks of establishing a life together. In addition to her study of him, she prioritized keeping a comfortable and tidy home for him. When they'd arrived, the house had necessary been messy having been so hastily assembled under Sarek's management. She took the day to alleviate the mess and to organize the clutter and received one of Spock's rare smiles when he considered her results. That had earned her a gentle forehead kiss of real affection.

She planted a garden to provide the off-world vegetables and spices she determined he enjoyed. Until it blossomed she shopped daily to make sure he could taste the difference in her cooking between real food and the tastes she imagined came from the Enterprise's replicators. He never told her, for obvious reasons, that he remained bonded to one of the best xeno-chefs in the quadrant; that revelation would have been cruel.

On those rare occasions when he did not work all day in his lab, she observed him meticulously. Tall, even for a Vulcan, his Star Fleet fitness requirement resulted in a muscled, lean physique which appealed to her. As he no longer needed his uniforms on a daily basis, he took to wearing form fitting t-shirts which, to her mind, increased his desirability.

If she were otherwise not engaged, which he rarely found, he would invite her to share in one of his many hobbies. Spock had an autonomic revulsion to being outside in the daytime lest the paparazzi catch them together and report about it. But at dawn or dusk or night he would walk in the garden talking about the places he'd been and how much life the universe still held, even if it wasn't Vulcan.

Nighttime walks were the best. During these rare opportunities, Spock would hold class on the heavens as they could be seen from their yard. She understood without his saying that he was sharing his true love with her, opening himself up and trusting her not to betray him in this visible vulnerability. He was never more himself than during this time, pointing towards and describing the heavens as living, breathing entities. Spock did not miss her interest; she would be a good candidate for Star Fleet. He thanked the heavens that she could not read him because his thoughts would have hurt her and that was never his intent. His intent, from deep within his secret heart, aimed to picture Uhura somewhere out there and to hope she looked out from some viewing place towards New Vulcan.

Nighttime walks provided a segue to their most awkward daily moment - bedtime.

It took little observation of their nightly rituals to realize the discomfort and disappointment both experienced. Since the morning following their honeymoon, Spock spent every night in the lab without exception. Each evening as her bedtime approached, excuses were made, confusion as to who went first and did what in the bathroom arose, hasty apologies were spoken and accepted. Her lack of tears did not imply acceptance or satisfaction with the status quo but she refused to challenge him this early in their marriage.

Spock carried the burden of her unhappiness in the same wagon he carried the other causalities of his choices.

* * *

Night presented the biggest challenge for Spock. Unwilling to spend any time near his marital bed, he'd consigned himself to work nights in his lab. Work, for the most part, kept him from pining for Uhura's mind and body.

Night had been their time, a time when Uhura could pry his humanity from him, help him to understand what the blend of Vulcan discipline and human emotion could mean. She never let him off easy, constantly challenging him to develop his strengths from his entire genetic heritage, not just the side he had habitually sought first. His time spent reclining in her embrace, considering his broadening options for a balanced life, satisfied him as much as their lovemaking. During his nightly lab work Spock forced himself to shield to his maximum strength; given Uhura's psionic power he could not risk her discovery of his secret heart.

To combat the night terrors, Spock worked hard. Starting from scratch, Spock built a complete in vitro laboratory in his basement. Night saw Spock develop the techniques necessary to improve fertility and viability of remnant pregnancies.

Daunting challenges awaited him; with small families and high conception rates during Pon Farr, pre-cataclysm Vulcans invested little in the science and application of infertility remediation. Such knowledge now meant survival for the remnant. Not much data existed; Spock generated as many research results as he found on the 'net. He had to learn all of the medical science on his own.

At night, no responsibilities to Sarek's plan could deter him from finding the answer in the vials, chemicals and procedures he painstakingly applied to the problem.

At night, Spock used the excuse of saving the remnant to work himself into exhaustion because exhaustion, mental and physical, prevented his dreaming about Uhura.

* * *

Within a month of avoiding his marriage, Spock developed a repeatable technique for gamete retrieval. In a meeting lasting barely 10 minutes, Spock barked a series of commands and directions to Sarek, commands that would result in volunteers for gamete retrieval. Included in the commands were instructions for outfitting a surgical area within the council building for the retrieval surgeries and eventual fertilized blastocyst return for implantation.

Within three months of his disastrous honeymoon night, Spock solved the issue of gamete and blastocyst cryo-storage without cell damage. As a by-product of testing each thawed sample for DNA damage, he perfected a non-destructive procedure for DNA assessment thus reducing the risk of perpetuating birth defects through faulty DNA.

By month five of his hiding in his basement lab, Spock stood on the precipice of treating the Vulcan fertility issues - at least in terms of producing viable blastocysts for implantation. All future effort would be focused on perfecting the techniques necessary to accomplish implantation, pregnancy and delivery of healthy Vulcan offspring. Spock desparately sought the right answers to improve his successes; because of his nights in the lab, he might need to use his own techniques to satisfy his wife's recently announced desire for a baby by Spock.

If Sarek knew or understood the goal of Spock's frenetic actions, he gave no clue discernible by Spock.

While his desire to return to his bond mate would have been sufficient motivation, each day's failures and disappointments amped up the stakes and drove him harder - as did Spock's emotionally driven desire to remove Sarek once and for all as an impediment to his happiness.


	10. Chapter 10

**Meeting**

Spock spilled some of the substrate he was handling. He couldn't concentrate and concentration was critical. After months of work he'd conquered each challenge in sequence - gamete retrieval, gamete storage, non-destructive DNA assessment and in vitro fertilization. 130 transfers; 130 failures. He'd have to keep at it; getting back to Uhura required it.

The thought of her reprogrammed his attention; his receptors told him she needed him. At first he ignored it, although it lasted for hours. With time the call and the tension around it increased, making his neck itch. Still he continued, sure that his fastest path back to her permanently lay in solving the problems the little dishes in front of him presented.

Then she screamed his name.

Spock sprinted out of his home, past his confused Vulcan "wife" and over to Spock Prime's habitat. He messaged his older self in route and a shuttle awaited him. Barely sending a thank you, Spock took off, following her signal back home.

Fortunately for Spock, the Enterprise was aimed right at him.

* * *

It started with restlessness.

Kirk felt her tossing and turning. She struggled to get comfortable notwithstanding all of the recent experimental modifications Scotty and Pavel had made to her bed. Spock's bed. Their former bed. Jim had taken to sitting with her as her due date approached, to calm her and to check the baby. The baby _always_ reacted to his touch. He stroked her distended abdomen with a light finger just to check, to make sure they were both ok; they were well beyond his need to ask permission He wasn't sure what he would do if his touch did not elicit a response - other than carry her to Sick Bay while he screamed his head off for McCoy. Thankfully it hadn't happened. Baby Uhura was a happy, active fetus who wore his mother out daily.

After an hour of tossing, Kirk convinced her to turn so he could rub her back. Sulu had given her a cream, used in Japan, made from soybeans and eucalyptus leaves. Kirk hesitated to use the homemade-looking stuff but it proved its worth by unknotting strained muscles and relaxing raging hormones. She always liked to talk during a back rub, mostly of growing up in Africa. Had he asked, she would have told him that the stories were for him; her gift for his attentiveness and care during her pregnancy. Jim had few stories he wanted to relive or to share. So she gave him hers, painted in the colors of the desert and the savannah. He sat on the bed, leaning back against the head board with his eyes closed while she talked - always checking the baby's status with a finger - rubbing the creme slowly and lovingly onto her soft skin. He'd fallen asleep there in that position more than once, completely forgetting to go to the couch or his own quarters. And she felt comfortable sleeping there beside him. So did baby Uhura.

Tonight, though, the cream nor the change of positions worked. He'd suggested calling McCoy but she wasn't due for almost a month based on her conception date. They argued, as much as Kirk would let her, until he gave in to her idea of taking a shower. If she felt better he agreed to back off, if she didn't she agreed to visit McCoy. She reminded him to eat and directed him with a pointing finger to the meal she'd left for him in the kitchen. Fighting his own desire to be within sight distance, he followed her orders. He'd finished the vegetables first - a habit she insisted he cultivate - when she yelled for him; her water broke in the shower.

Kirk was in the shower on the bounce holding up a huge towel to protect her modesty. Encircling her in his arms, he carried her to the bed and gingerly handed her the gown she would give birth in. While she dressed, he called McCoy from the living area and updated him. McCoy would meet them in Sick Bay.

* * *

The pain hit her hard within 2 hours. McCoy had never seen anything like it. Kirk tried everything to relax her but there was just too much pain. McCoy's concern was medical; these massive contractions that could be seen from outside her body were not turning the baby. Baby Uhura remained a breach and McCoy did not want to have to open her up. Until the baby turned, McCoy could not risk slowing her labor with pain meds.

Leaving Kirk to ride out the contractions and pain waves with her, McCoy rounded the med table and put an emergency call through to M'Benga. Half asleep, M'Benga answered almost immediately.

"What's going on Leonard?"

"Uhura's in labor, about 5 hours in, and I've never seen contractions like these. She's having trouble staying with them. Jim says they came on hard and fast after her water broke."

"Jim Kirk? If he's the father, why are you calling me?"

"Spock's the father." McCoy said curtly.

"Tell him to get a telepathic block in to help her handle the pain -"

"He's not here."

"Get him there fast. You need a telepath with her ASAP. Vulcan fetuses' need to be told to move to the birth canal. Without that guidance, they won't budge and she'll hemorrhage."

"What about an emergency c-section? I can start now"

"How much Vulcan blood do you have onboard? She'll need at least 10-15 pints. A Vulcan fetus has triple the blood demands of a human fetus in utero. Her blood type alone won't work for a transfusion - the baby will bleed out before you can get it out. Get Spock now! He's the only one with a bond to both of them strong enough to convince that baby to enter the canal. What stage is she in?"

"Almost to transition." McCoy answered while he sent a coded message to Sulu to find Spock.

"Hurry, Leonard. You have about 2 hours. Get Spock. I'll standby. M'Benga out".

Sulu's response flashed across McCoy's PADD. With no hesitation McCoy declared a medical emergency and rerouted the Enterprise to New Vulcan at maximum warp. He ran back into Sick Bay before the ackowledgement came back.

"Jim, she needs a telepath. Vulcan babies need to be told to move into the birth canal." Jim could barely concentrate for the contortions and pain Uhura suffered. He released her hand long enough to slap the wall communicator, 'Sulu! -" McCoy stopped him.

"It's done Jim. I need your help. Both of you" Jim doubted Uhura could do any more than ride the pain but she surprised him by nodding between contractions.

"You and Kirk have a familial bond. Uhura, can you focus for Kirk if he talks to your baby? Tells him to go down and not sideways? I know I'm asking a lot. Can you do that for me until we get to New Vulcan? I promise we're going to come out of this with a healthy baby."

She nodded again, gasping through that last contraction.

"Jim, get on the med-bed behind her. Lay her on your chest"

Kirk tenderly sat her up to make room and jumped behind her.

"Take your shirt off and open the back of her gown. You need skin contact." Once situated he gently lowered her backwards, helping her scoot towards him. They were quickly in contact.

"Now just talk to him. Tell him that out is _down_." McCoy coached.

Jim Kirk had never obssessed so much on a single thought in his life. _Hey buddy, remember me? Down. Turn for me. Down. _He felt his connection to Uhura and kept thinking for all he was worth. It almost worked, Over 2 hours the baby turned 75% of the distance needed; then Uhura hit transition.

The pain knocked their link out; she couldn't concentrate so he could't broadcast.

* * *

Acting Captain Sulu handled Spock's request to dock. Suppressing the urge to let him land then depressurize the shuttle hangar while he was in it, he gave Spock clearance to land and passed on instructions to proceed directly to Sick Bay. McCoy, knowing Sulu's discretion, had given him enough information to act independently. Sulu had done so in spite of his earnest desire to have a "discussion" with Spock. A discussion involving rapiers.

Spock slammed the shuttle down and shot out the door before it opened fully, hitting his head and cutting in a decent sized laceration which bled. Blood in his eyes didn't slow him one step; this close to her, her pain ran down his spine like a lightening strike. Still unaware of the cause of her distress, he rounded the corner to Sick Bay at top speed and came to a stop behind McCoy.

_K'diwa you called me..._

_Spock, please; please help me with this pain!_

Spock slammed a block in and the results were immediate; she sagged back against Jim Kirk, soaking him with her perspiration. Kirk used his discarded shirt to wipe her face, neck and shoulders. McCoy took the lull to fill Spock in.

"Spock. You need to establish a link with the baby. Tell him how to get to the birth canal. Come on, man - get to it!"

Spock's mind was confused. "The baby is Vulcan?"

Kirk's patience wore out.

He wasn't happy to see Spock. Not now. Not after all those months of paying dues. The alternative, however, could not happen; Kirk needed Uhura and the infant alive. And he knew that the bond between Uhura and Spock was beyond his ability to overcome. Kirk would always be there for her, but he knew - right then and there - she would always be Spock's.

"Yes!" Kirk shouted at him. "Get that boy out of there, Spock!"

Spock pushed McCoy aside to take a position between Uhura's legs. Something primal resented Kirk's bare-chested presence but time did not permit a fist fight. Placing his hands on her swollen abdomen he immediately joined her in instructing their baby on which way was down. The pain block provided her the relief needed to coax their son out of her body. After hours of crises it took only 35 minutes to deliver a healthy, 9.8 lb. baby boy.

Zeroed in on coaching his son through delivery, Spock did not notice whose hands she reached for as she pushed with the final contractions nor was he aware of the other voice in her mind during these moments, encouraging her to ignore muscles used past the point of fatigue:

_I'm here, sweetheart. Just a little more work. This is what we've been waiting for. You can do this! Let's have this baby._


	11. Chapter 11

**Synergy**

"Priority Communications Security Level Alpha Encrypted: Commander Spock to Doctor M'Bega"

Spock waited anxiously for M'Benga to reply.

"M'Benga here" The reply bore none of the warmth of their previous dialogs.

"Doctor, I request your assistance. Are there differences in the pregnancy rates between bonded and non-bonded Vulcan pairs and how significant are the deltas?"

M'Benga watched Spock through the display longer than Spock was comfortable with.

"Doctor. If it will expedite your decision to assist me, here are the answers you seek. I did NOT know she was pregnant. I "married" my Vulcan wife to gain the time I need to solve the remnants' infertility issues. Uhura remains my bond mate. Are you familiar with Lande's extinction predictive model?"

That got M'Benga's attention quickly.

"No, Commander."

"By all present measures, Vulcan's remnant population will be its last generation unless I can find an answer. I can provide details later but at this moment I need to understand the relationship of bonding to fertility."

M'Benga gave Spock a run down on Vulcan fertility prior to the cataclysm.

"... so bonding changes the cis-estrogen table and opens the necessary receptors. It's why Vulcan females don't need birth control before bonding. They - " Spock interrupted him.

"Could you repeat that Doctor?"

M'Benga kicked himself mentally for not being clearer. Vulcans had a pathological revulsion to discussing any topic related to sex. Spock had no knowledge of Vulcan female sexual or mating behavior; his mother and his bond mate were both human.

"Vulcan females have no risk of pregnancy by males they have not bonded to. Without a bond, their hormones will not allow the fertilized cell to implant."

"Doctor, do you know the hormone profile for bonded Vulcan females?"

M'Benga thought before answering.

"Most of it. We have a few Vulcan med staff who are bonded and starting families. I can get hormone profiles off them, with their permission, and send them to you."

"Thank you. That would most beneficial, doctor." Spock replied. He'd gotten them 90% of the way there, M'Benga would get them the rest. Thank the heavens he'd spent all those nights in the lab and not upstairs with his "wife".

"Spock, you want to tell me what's going on?" Curiosity got the better of M'Benga's ire with him.

With measured words Spock explained his so far futile efforts to establish an in vitro fertilization program for the remnant. A program that would not require him to ever again marry a Vulcan female of breeding age and known fertility to stave off the extinction that raced towards them. He went into detail about his attempts and failures and his frustration because the answers weren't coming fast enough to save the remnant or his relationship with Uhura and his infant son.

"Uhura called me to her in labor. I heard her. As I am sure you know, I barely got there in time to assist. When we spoke afterwards..." Spock stopped to regain his composure "...I remarked on how quickly she conceived after stopping the contraceptives. She was pregnant within hours of stopping the spray. By my calculations, she should not have been fertile for another two weeks."

M'Benga smiled in spite of himself at Spock's discomfort with the topic and his complete blindness to the obvious.

"That's because she chose. Your bond allowed her to choose. All she had to do was get the contraceptives out of the way. I'm surprised the sprays worked for her. Her family boasts pretty high fertility rates."

"I am aware." M'Benga laughed at Spock's droll reply. Was that a knowing smile on his face.

"I gather you want to treat willing Vulcan females with in vitro?"

"Yes; those who are single and willing as well as those who are not bonded but are married and those bonded couples experiencing... Difficulties."

M'Benga's next words floored Spock.

"Spock, is it possible for me to come to New Vulcan and assist you? This is pretty important work; it might help to have a Vulcan endocrinologist in the lab with you. And I have to admit, this is pretty exciting. Would you be willing to send me your research and findings so far? I can study them on my way to you."

"That would be satisfactory. It will give me more time with my son who is communicating the need for a diaper change. If you will excuse me, I will see you on New Vulcan in 15 days standard."

* * *

With that accomplished, Spock rose and glided quickly to the bassinet in his living area. He'd waited until she slept to roll the tiny sleeping chamber nearer to him and away from her. He wanted her to rest and, until the next feeding, he could and would handle all of Grayson's needs.

Cradling his newborn, Spock laid the baby gently on the couch for a diaper change. Many couples produced children with a decided dominant trait from one parent or the other. Grayson Uhura x Spock mixed traits from both parents. His ears left no doubt of his Vulcan heritage, but on Grayson the sloping was more gentle with subtle color variation reflecting his mixed parentage. He had Uhura's eyes - dark, large enough to swim in and so like Spock's mother's. His complexion completely mixed his parents', his skin a lucious deep coffee and cream color so common on Earth. For reasons Spock did not entirely understand, Grayson sported a full head of dark curls taking their texture from Uhura and their color mostly from Spock - a shock of curls sat center front with Uhura's hair color. All in all Spock found himself pleased at the results of their efforts - her efforts, really.

Having changed his son's diaper, Spock carefully lifted the child to his shoulder to soothe him. Grayson did not seek sleep; Spock felt his tiny mind reaching for contact. To keep him from seeking Nyota, Spock responded to his inquiry.

_Grayson, I am your father_

Grayson's mind seemed confused. He didnt know this mind. It was not MOMMY. Was it the OTHER? The one he knew from MOMMYs' mind in the Before? The one he touched when he kicked? Uncertain who he was with, he fussed more, preparing to cry.

_I am your father, Grayson and I love you._

Spock sank into the couch, closed his eyes and began to hum. The melody was one Nyota loved and he often played for her. It was as old as Vulcan itself. Softly he sang, resting his cheek against his son's hair as his own mother had done with him.

Grayson remembered this song. MOMMY sang it during the Before. She sang it while he swallowed and made the inside better. He knew this sound.

Nyota watched from the doorway without their notice, Spock concentrated totally on Grayson. She'd waited a long time for this moment so she savored it. When they were both asleep, she went back to their bed to wait for the next feeding. Her breasts told her it would be sooner rather than later.

It took a tad more than an hour. Spock heard the discomfort in Grayson's mind a beat before small lungs fueled a powerful cry.

_I was expecting that _came to Spock from the bedroom. In spite of Grayson's feeding schedule, she sounded rested. Spock secured Grayson, standing slowly, and took the baby to her.

She was ready for him when they arrived in the bedroom. Grayson latched on for dear life as if he hadn't had a meal in days.

_What did you do to him, Spock? _

She let Spock recapitulate the last 2 hours before she smiled. He still had ground to cover in understanding humor.

_That was unkind, Nyota._

_That was payback for leaving me here. How did you know?_

He didn't need more than that to know the subject.

_When your labor began, you called for me. I could think of nothing else but getting to you. I knew you needed me._

Grayson still nursed, well past his normal stopping time, but in a more leisurely fashion. She looked at their son, lost in the sheer pleasure of food, warmth and love - food coming first, of course. She brushed a curl away from his eyes.

_Will Grayson get to meet his sibling?_

The question unnerved him. _Why_?...

_Because I know why you left me to get married. Only one reason to marry someone you're not bonded to and that's Vulcan repopulation. Sarek's breeding plan. Will Grayson get to meet his sibling?_

Tears came for the first time in a long time.

Spock listened to her on all channels. She needed to know.

_Thanks to my long nights spent in the lab there will be no sibling not of your body._

She caught something. A thought. An embarrassing thought, sexual in nature. Finding his eyes with her own, she forced the issue.

_What happened, Spock? Something happened. You're shielding._

_K'diwa, please..._

_Now I KNOW you're hiding something because you're begging. Out with it, Spock._

Dejected he gave her the background she needed - about the extinction prediction, about the in vitro program, about his marriage.

_As the months passed without in vitro success I was forced to consider contributing the... normal... way..._

Tears flowed again until she glimpsed what he was hiding:

On the fateful night that could have meant the end of his bond with Uhura, Spock suffered a **complete** system shutdown.

Inability to execute.

Shocking.

Embarrassing.

Uhura laughed so hard she jostled Grayson, who began to cry about the disturbance to his feeding bliss. Cooing to the baby while he latched on again, she reduced her laughter to a chuckle.

_K'diwa, it is beneath you to enjoy my infirmity -_

_Serves you right, Spock. You belong to me. Can't say I've ever known you to have performance issues._

_It has never happened_

_We'll see in 6 weeks_

* * *

On Grayson's fifth day in the world, she dressed him and herself and left with him to take a walk after dinner. Her timing was intentional: Spock would be in conference for hours with M'Benga. Ordinarily she would object after the separation and stress they'd been through; however, their future together depended on M'Benga's skill at producing full-blooded healthy Vulcan infants.

She counted on him not removing her voice access to his quarters. He'd changed it when she was pregnant so that she could get some rest; halfway through the pregnancy everybody and their mothers were dropping in to check on her. Too polite to tell them to go home, she entertained each one until Kirk himself put a stop to it. McCoy helped by announcing at a staff meeting that each of them could be passing some baby-damaging contagion to Uhura with all the visits. Kirk had insisted she hide out in his quarters until the baby mania passed.

She announced and the door opened to her request.

He was sitting at the table nursing a bottle of bourbon - with no glass - and a truckload of bruised feelings. Shirtless and shoeless, his stubble equaled Grayson's age in days. Empty bourbon bottles ringed his chair but he wasn't drunk - not today; not yet, at least.

"Jim? You haven't been to see Grayson or me since Sick Bay. I didn't get a chance to thank you."

"Hey, I'm the captain. Everybody's problem is my problem." _Really__ bruised feelings. _He drank deeply from the bottle before turning to look at her.

"You look great. Still glowing."

"I got something pretty special out of it. You made that possible." She sat on his couch.

"Not the way I wanted to."

He expected her to take that as a sexual innuendo, his way of returning to their thoroughly unsatisfactory pre-pregnancy relationship.

It wasn't.

That was _his_ family sitting on _his_ couch - except they now lived in another man's quarters. She understood his real meaning; her response intentionally _mis_understood it.

"Yes, I know" she chuckled. "Fortunately, that's the first time _that_ idea's come up." and with a nonchalant grace, she unbuttoned her blouse, opened the flap on her nursing bra and fed the fussing infant.

That shut Kirk up.

Curiosity got the better of him and he found himself standing in front of them both, amazed at her and the baby he'd known only by kicks and moves. Uhura looked up at him casually - "Sit down. This is going to take a while."

He regained some of his wits after sitting.

"Spock's going to fry a circuit if he finds out you're in here nursing Grayson."

"Spock's going to have to get over it; nine pound baby's get hungry - a lot. I just forgot his blanket. This is new for me too."

"This is what it's all about, isn't it? " he asked her.

His faraway tone prompted her to look at him. Tears balanced themselves on his lower eyelids but he did not shed them.

"My father never... " he stopped and started again. "It was all worth it. Thank you, Nyota."

He'd never called her that once in all their months together. She laid her hand over his. Heartache threatened to overwhelm her.

_Jim, Jim, Jim... What am I going to do with you?..._

His gaze moved to the baby, happily feeding. "He's beautiful. Like his mother."

Kirk ran a finger down Grayson's temple, stroking him as he'd done for months when he lived inside Uhura. Grayson, recognizing the touch, turned towards the finger as he nursed.

"He's here and healthy, So am I. You did that. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure."

"It was more than that."

Grayson finished eating but did not seem sleepy. Returning herself to a more modest state, she turned and plunked the baby, unannounced, into Kirk's arms. Adjusting his hands to support the infant, she excused herself to use his bathroom. She knew the way.

Kirk just looked at the baby for a long while, stroking his face softly with his thumb. From touch alone, Grayson recognized this one as OTHER and relaxed. Kirk spoke to him.

"Hey buddy, remember me? We spent a lot of time together before you were born. You scared the h- " Kirk stopped himself in mid-word and revised his sentence "You gave us a rocking good scare, son."

"I don't have any stories from when I was little. Your mom told me one about Africa. Did you know she grew up there? She did. They have elephants. Elephants are as big as this room and they have really long noses and they are really slow..."

Uhura watched them for a while then laid down on the bed she knew very well; she and Kirk had never been in it together. She slept within minutes.

Her breasts woke her, full of milk and ready for Grayson. It took a minute to remember she was in Jim's quarters and to recollect her pre-nap actions. She returned to the living area and covered her mouth to keep her laughter from disturbing them.

Kirk was sound asleep on his back on the floor, surrounded tightly by cushions from the sofa, his attempt at protective baby bumpers because Jim didn't realize 5-day old babies can't turn over on their own.

On Kirk's bare chest - and wrapped in Jim's arms - lay Grayson, stretched out, comfortable and asleep under the "forgotten" blanket.

She let them sleep and laid down on the couch to wait; Grayson's hunger would disturb them all soon enough.


	12. Chapter 12

**[Re]Solution**

Sarek's disbelief filled his office. Spock sent communications to announce many new beginnings.

First, he'd become a father with Uhura. Grayson Uhura x Spock entered the world at just under 10 pounds, already telepathic and possibly empathic.

Second, Spock left his new family - temporarily - because he and Dr. M'Benga, the Vulcan endocrinologist, had a plan for increasing live infant yields among the remnants.

Finally, Spock announced the annulment of his marriage and his intent to marry his son's mother - as originally planned before Sarek's crisis consumed his life.

* * *

Only the key Vulcan leaders were in the meeting. They needed to decide what to do about "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination (IDIC)", a core belief in the Vulcan value system that stood a good chance of accellerating Vulcan extinction.

"We have been re-evaluating the Lande equations with regards to the effects of IDIC."

The speaker drew a long, deep breath before continuing.

"We conclude that continued application to IDIC to the remnant will disperse the dominant Vulcan alleles within 15.29 years."

Sarek observed the discord among Vulcan elders who had been on Earth instead of dealing with survival here on New Vulcan. Sarek, an old hand at crisis observation, waited for the panic to subside and the philosophical debate to begin. His strategy required them to move through it. Sarek needed the discussion to polarize in support of IDIC. Only then would his scorched earth scenario work; they would reason through his evidence and its impact until they stood on the brink of emotional explosion.

Sarek knew his people well, certainly better than they knew him. He also knew, based on new information from Spock's recent correspondence, that the time had come to use Spock in a dfferent way; as humans often described it, Sarek was about to throw his son under the bus. He waited and the perfect moment revealed itself. Clearing his throat to ensure he had the enclave's uninterrupted attention, he began.

"Gentlemen, if you value the uniqueness of the Vulcan gene pool, please listen..."

Sarek's months and months of cajoling, bullying and prodding would payoff here. He'd conditioned them to listen, pay heed and eventually capitulate.

His elegant argument started with a shameless - and nonetheless effective - emotional but logical defense of the Vulcan gene pool and the need for it in the universe. Lest they believe that all would be fine with the new surge in Vulcan-Vulcan weddings, Sarek pointed to his own son, the hero of Vulcan, as an example of what IDIC could do to the continued existence of Vulcan genes.

He read in council chambers an abridged (modified by Sarek to suit his purposes) version of Spock's proud announcement that a human female from Earth's African continent held in her arms the infant son of Spock, a child that should have been conceived on New Vulcan with Spock's Vulcan wife. This baby would be only one-quarter Vulcan. And this baby belonged to their hero - Sarek's son - Spock.

If any of them had bothered to truly reason, they would have realized the timing of Uhura's pregnancy would precede Spock's obligations to his marriage. Sarek didn't give them time to reason. He declared his own son's behavior a cautionary tale of what could happen if the council did not rescind IDIC as a basis for consideration as a Vulcan. He demanded its teachings be removed from Vulcan education until such time as the extinction threat eased. He did not have to draw the lines between the dots for them; if Spock could be ensnared, anyone could.

Sarek petitioned and badgered them to protect the gene pool by instituting a change to the Family Records Archive. For the first time in its multi-millennial history, no individual less than one-half pure Vulcan would be accepted into the Archives.

The Family Records Archive contained genealogical records pre-dating the split of Romulans from the Vulcan core. It formed the basis for belonging within the Vulcan culture. Its content had been used after the cataclysm to document the dead and the living. Now the Archive had an entrance exam: Spock passed; his infant son did not.

Sarek argued that those for whom this mattered would subordinate their individual needs to those of the Vulcan existence. In essence, Vulcans would marry only certain Vulcans.

In this manner, Sarek reasoned eloquently and persuasiely and undid a foundation of the teaching of Surak, the father of modern Vulcan. Sarek accomplished this in a single afternoon.

Without a single hesitant step, Sarek brought down the pillars of the Cult of Spock and threw his son's reputation within the remnant diaspora to hungry wolves.

Survival's price would always be paid by those around the crafty Vulcan ambassador.

* * *

At six weeks old, Grayson transitioned to a longer sleeping pattern making location changes easier. The remainder of her maternity leave would be taken on New Vulcan. She would join Spock and M'Benga who, in their three-plus weeks on the planet, had finally achieved their first two in vitro pregnancies - one with a bonded couple experiencing trauma-related infertility and one with population program newlyweds who had no bond. Success remained elusive but the program had turned a huge corner with this news.

Truth be told, Uhura hadn't wanted to move. Spock had begged her to come and then greased the skids with Kirk without her knowledge. She lost her temper with Spock when she found out but it bore no fruit; he left two days later expecting his family to follow. Rounding the corner of a corridor she could navigate blindfolded, she hunted Kirk down an hour after Spock's departure. It would be a cold day in hell before she'd let two men decide her future without her consent.

"Uhura!" she shouted at the door too loudly. Grayson shrieked, frightened by her shout.

_Uhhh! Screaming baby_...

The wail brought Kirk out at a trot. Without asking, he took Grayson from her, rocking him to quiet his screaming. Babyless and unable to vent her wrath, she marched to the couch and flopped.

"Uhura, what is your major malfunction!? Why was this baby screaming?" Past tense. Jim could get him quieted faster than anyone - including his mother.

"I shouted at your door because I couldn't shout at you... yet!" She reached for the baby but Kirk kept him out of her grasp. Grayson picked a side by nuzzling into Kirk's arms.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Her look shot bullets at him.

"Aren't you going to ask me how I know your panties are in a bunch?" he added, smiling.

"Be serious, Jim. We're past that. Why would you agree to have us shipped off to New Vulcan?" Her tears brought him to her immediately. Sliding Grayson to one arm he placed the other around her, bringing her close.

"I thought that's what you wanted... To be with Spock." he whispered.

"I do, but... Sarek doesn't want us there. Not when he's trying to create his pure Vulcan offsprings. No family, no friends..." Grayson wailed, tuned in as he was to her state of mind.

"Who would _dare_ breach the walls of the Nubian Warrior Princess?" and she laughed at him through her tears. He'd reminded her of one of her favorite fantasy games when she was a child in Africa. A story she gave to him what seemed like a lifetime ago now.

"Spock and M'Benga will be locked in that lab for weeks. We'll be all alone."

"What's this really about?" he asked her as he calmed Grayson again. She turned to make sure their eyes met. Unblinking, she answered his query.

"Why didn't you ask me?" She bruised him with the hurt look in her eyes.

"I was afraid you would stay. You and Spock need time together. And I need to be captain for a while."

Pulling her closer he kissed her forehead, lingering as long as he dared; she belonged to another man. Grayson fretted in his arms; he handed the baby to her as she lifted her blouse to feed him.

"I'll miss this; just us, together." he told her. He paused, capturing a mental picture, then bent to kiss Grayson's head. "If you want to come home, just call. I'll come get you, myself. I promise."

Jim Kirk had a reputation for never breaking a promise.

Four weeks later, Jim helped her pack and personally carried their luggage to the shuttle. He gave Spock a cock & bull story that McCoy didn't want Grayson's atoms scrambled all over the universe before he was two. Flimsy though the story was, Spock bought it. Kirk had his own reasons for avoiding the transporter.

He piloted the shuttle himself; she cried the entire way.

Pulling into orbit so that they could say goodbye privately, he tenderly kissed her cheek when he wanted to kiss her lips. His touch revealed all his longing to be with her and Grayson and his sure knowledge that only distance would cure him of their effect on him.

He cradled Grayson on his shoulder, brushing the boy's soft, baby-scented curls with his lips, unabashed tears streaming down his face.

"Grayson... I love you, buddy; I'll always be your daddy..."

Handing the baby back to her, he kissed the boy's head, pushed the comm button and spoke in his clear tone of command.

"Kirk to New Vulcan. Requesting permission to land."

Another Captain Kirk had just lost his family.

McCoy waited for him as Kirk landed the shuttle in the Enterprise shuttle bay on his return trip, an open bottle of bourbon in one hand and a flask of Tennessee sour mash in the other. Sulu had tipped him off. They sat silently on the shuttle steps until both bottle and flask were empty. Then they went to McCoy's quarters and did it again.

None of them knew that it would be two years befre they came together again on the Enterprise.

* * *

At a small homestead on New Vulcan a very old Vulcan paced like a younger version of himself. He'd gotten a call 48 hours ago confirming the start of one of Vulcan's new paths. He expected news sooner but it had not come. As he planned for a covert shuttle visit, the secure channel opened.

"You are there?"

"Yes. How is Nuhir?" Information transfer was taking too long.

"She is well. The firsts are always reluctant. But he is here - "

"A boy?" Pride rode inside the question.

"Yes. Big and noisy and healthy. Nuhir says you had picked a name together."

Spock Prime closed his eyes in silent thanks. His beloved, Nuhir - the only child of the head of the Romulan Tal Shiar - bore him a son. He would thank his younger self for the tip about chocolate.

"He will be named Surak"

Tal Shiar ascension followed hereditary lines. When Nuhir took over headship from her father in 10-15 federation standard years, their son would become the half-Romulan/half-Vulcan heir apparent to the real power within the Romulan Empire. Aged though he was, Spock Prime contemplated the path and work ahead. Like his younger self, he now had a son to raise and a culture to save from itself.

One small step towards Vulcan/Romulan unification - at the DNA level.

IDIC remained alive and well in Sarek's family.


	13. Chapter 13

**Detente**

2 Years Later

Spock's family had returned to New Vulcan to see Sarek on their way to the Enterprise. They spent two years on Earth, Spock establishing a surrogacy program to allow telepathic couples to carry Vulcan embryos to term and Uhura taking over his advanced xeno-linguistics class at the Academy.

Family took on more importance for them on Earth. Grayson met his African family who passed him to the arms of relative after relative for two straight months. Cousins arrived - different ones every day - to keep the baby giggling and happy. Spock got to witness firsthand how a loving family works, squabbles and all. Uhura's family welcomed him back and helped restore his balance.

He reinforceded his bond with her there; they were married in a traditional African ceremony on her parent's compound. Over 600 Uhura's attended as did a number of Star Fleet friends including some from the Enterprise; Kirk and McCoy did not attend, but both sent them beautiful gifts. Uhura's father wondered at Kirk's absence but did not ask, though he suspected much. Sarek had not been invited.

Back in San Francisco Spock took to spending hours every day in the park playing with Grayson. In time he bonded with his son; Grayson's first words - in Fed Standard - were "Baba, Up!". When Kirk contacted them to return to the Enterprise, both said yes. Unfinished business remained on New Vulcan, though.

As they walked ahead of Spock and Grayson, Sarek remembered the thought crossing his mind at the conclusion of the P'lthin negotiations. He'd wondered then if she would reason out his repopulation plan and Spock's prominent place in it. Sarek feared, at the time, she would discover his near panic at the revelation that Spock's body and mind did not belong to a Vulcan woman.

_Listen to me_, he thought to himself, _I, who married a human, sound like a racial purist_.

_Yes you do, _she replied to what he meant to be a private thought.

_Walking at a faster pace might make this... easier _

Despite her scalpel-sharp anger, she agreed with a nod. The pace quickly increased the distance between them and the stragglers - Sarek's pregnant wife T'Key, Spock and toddler Grayson.

_I've read about the history of your home, of Africa. The region has undergone much; many empire builders over the centuries exploiting its mineral wealth and its peoples. Yet the continent survived. You are a product of this struggle to exist and thrive._

_Look Sarek, don't compare my family's experiences to what you did to Spock - to all of the Vulcans. Call this what it is - a eugenics program to create a pure Vulcan race. What I don't understand is why do you keep in touch? My son does not fit your requirements for racial purity. Why have anything to do with us?_

Uhura's thought-speech was cold and meant to be harsh. Spock carried Sarek's grandson in his arms, a grandson who - under this program - could no longer be considered a son of Vulcan.

_It did not take you long to discern my plan. Did you see it in the meld? _

_I saw all the pieces. It took time to assemble it all because I was pregnant. Did you ever tell him what was behind your actions? Did he know it was you who created this "program"?_

Sarek thought about it before answering.

_Not initially. I feared he would respectfully decline. Please understand that I could not exempt myself or my son from the needs of Vulcans; I await the birth of my second son myself. Spock is a hero of two worlds; his participation broke down the resistance of other refugees._

Spock's voice interrupted her response.

"Nyota, It is nearly time for Grayson's nap and T'Key would benefit from rest. We will return to the house. Stay with Father and see the gardens."

Something about Spock's tone tipped her off; he was intentionally leaving them alone.

_Spock? _she started.

_Finish this. Here. _he sent back to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked and not about the garden tour.

"Yes." and with that he turned, offered his arm to T'Key and escorted the rear contingent back to the house.

_Do not doubt my feelings for Spock, Uhura. Do not doubt my feelings for my people. _

_And do not doubt my love for my grandson._

Uhura found it surprising that Sarek would use the word "love".

_Has Spock shown you the family pictures? _

He had.

_Grayson has Amanda's face and eyes. Like Spock. The needs of Vulcans scattered throughout the universe do not blind me to those small things that tie my grandson to all those I have cared for._

Despite Sarek's confession, the program he started still disturbed her. She asked him the question she'd been asking herself since Spock's 'sabbatical".

_What's your end game Sarek; when will this be over?_

Sarek stopped walking, looking at her with his dark, cool eyes.. Dropping his shields and taking her hand, Sarek ensured she experienced everything he struggled to prevent. She would feel his overwhelming burden and the unrelenting anxiety he smothered every minute of every day, navigating the remnant away from extinction.

_When there are no more suicides. When Vulcans have healed sufficiently to "move on" as humans put it. When Pon Farr no longer causes death after death - Spock has given us a new tool to use. And when we have sustainable population census here and on the two moons we purchased from the P'lthins - Spock's research will assist us there as well. Then every Vulcan may choose as he or she wishes and not as their leaders wish. Until then, we will prioritize survival over personal choice._

They walked further.

_You harbor resentment._

_For breaking us up and leaving me alone to deliver your grandson? Yes I do._

_That is why I recruited Spock so soon after the P'lthin negotiations. If he were to have any chance of producing Vulcan offpring I needed to separate you before your bond strengthened. I did not know about Spock's Pon Farr or your pregnancy._

Their unique monogamous bond rendered Spock physically incapable of fathering children with anyone but Uhura. Uhura scolded herself for the tears she could not control.

_I lack a bond with Spock; a fact I am sure you know. I thought his bond to you was more tenuous, caused by proximity and your efforts to save his mind and not by the deep love I now know you share. His love for you permeates his very cells in the old way. I hoped that a separation so soon after the P'lthins negotiations might break, or at least reduce, those connections. I apologize; it was a miscalculation on my part. Amanda tried many times to explain to me the difference in bonding for humans. He... suffered during your separation._

He waited for her asorb that.

Spock returned to them.

_You underestimate how well I understand your reasoning, Father. You did not reveal, you misled - I reasoned the situation out for myself and discoverd the flaw in your logic. But for that analysis, the survivors would continue towards extinction. Had I discerned your intent to separate me from my bond mate, the plight of every Vulcan in the universe would now rest solely in your hands._

_Your actions, Father, did provide a single advantage for the survivors; I had compelling motivation to find an answer so that I could return to Nyota. I could never produce the Vulcan offspring your plan desires as I am not purely Vulcan myself, an outcome resulting from __your__ choice of bond mate._

Spock witnessed the barb's penetration but spilled words long overdue between father and son.

_With all due respect, you seem always to choose the path of isolation and difficulty for me. You spent my childhood placing brutal challenges in front of me, demanding more of me than any other Vulcan parent, placing me at risk of beatings and bullying and bigotry. I excelled with only l'Chaya as a friend. So long as the risk, the threat were to me alone, I chose to endure it. _

_For the sake of the survivors, you placed my wife and son in danger without my consent. _**_Do __not __endanger __my __family __again_**_. Act as a caring father and grandfather or I will gladly become an orphan._

Uhura had not seen this cold, calculating Spock up close. Maybe he'd learned more from Sarek than she thought. He wasn't finished flaying the older Vulcan.

_In my life away from this planet, I am Vulcan enough and so is my son._

Sarek looked as if he'd been slapped. And he looked his age for the first time that day.

_Do not take my grandson away from me. Please._

Spock's unrelenting penetration sank the final harpoon.

_Thanks to my work with M'Benga, T'Key will deliver your son in the coming months. He can give you grandchildren on your terms._

Sarek shrank in his own body. Uhura shifted so that Spock could place his arm around her shoulders.

_We are the face of Vulcan, Father. _

Sarek had lost much; he would not risk losing Grayson or Spock. That had not been his intent when this started.

Extinction, a severe outcome, forces severe responses. He did not want to be excluded from their lives; after all, everything he'd done - every decision he'd made - had been for their futures.

He would reconsider his logic on IDIC sooner than the population numbers might warrant; he would not fracture the Vulcan soul again, as happened with the Romulans. Spock read this from Uhura's mind, the result of her physical contact with Sarek only moments ago.

_Will you stay for dinner? It would give me pleasure to play ka'athyra for Grayson._

_If you play, he will hug you. Do you accept that?_

_It has been a long time since a small boy hugged me._

_Please hug him back._


	14. Chapter 14

**Homecoming**

**Authos's Note:** _And so I think this is the end of this tale. _

_If I've been successful, every character has adapted to the reality of the environment and the people moving through it. If I havent, send comments and call me on the areas needing better writing._

_My next series will begin to delve into the Section 31 shenanigans. They haven't been idle, not with three remarkable psionic individuals so close to their hot little fingers. They might even turn their attention to Sarek's kid(s)._

_As always, thanks for hangin' in and riding the wave. Your reviews feed my mind and make me do a better job (hopefully?) each time._

* * *

The transporter hum lasted forever, it seemed. But in only seconds they arrived. Grayson had grown from a beautiful baby to a beautiful toddler with his mother's large eyes, a mop of curly hair and lashes long enough to sweep with. Built like Spock, his sturdy little legs dangled on Uhura's hip out of his short pants.

The commotion in the transporter room made it hard for them to move. Overwhelmed, Grayson hid his face as Sulu, Chekov and Scotty greeted them. McCoy grabbed one of his calves and asked Uhura what she was feeding him to get him this big this fast. Grayson pulled his leg back and tried to climb into his mother's blouse.

"Permission to board, Captain?" Spock asked easily.

"Permission granted. Welcome home. All of you"

Grayson's reaction was instantaneous; he knew that voice and he knew that mind. Arching his back, he changed his center of gravity so that Uhura had to put him down or risk dropping him. As soon as his feet hit the floor he took off, grabbing Kirk's legs and demanding to be picked up. Spock's eyebrow rose at the strange behavior by his toddler.

_OTHER, Up! Up! _his little mind said as he raised his sturdy arms. Spock had no idea what that meant; Uhura did. She turned to hide her smile and her tears. The bond between the three of them was as strong as ever. She shielded this bond for herself and Grayson from her husband to prevent the spread of any more pain between them.

Kirk picked him up and took a good look at him. Gently moving wayward curls from his face, Kirk greeted him as he always had.

"Hey, buddy! Remember me?" _I love you, son _she read from Kirk. Grayson read Kirk too and remembered. Looking back at Kirk with that same, disconcerting stare of his mother's, Grayson slowly grinned.

Vulcans have photographic memories from birth: Grayson remembered the man holding him because he had two names: OTHER and DADDY.

Kirk's arms were full of Grayson for the rest of the day.

They closed down Mess Hall with Spock complaining Grayson needed sleep. Grayson solved that problem by falling soundly asleep in Jim's lap. Jim experty shifted the toddler to his shoulder and continued enjoying his family's reunion. The Poker Posse had much to catch up on and much to plan now that the games would work around Grayson's schedule by common agreement. And a discussion was required to determine if Uhura would be allowed to play since breast milk and booze were incompatible; the Posse frowned on sober players.

The doctor and the chief engineer were nowhere near as drunk as it seemed. Each registered pleasure at the their captain's improved mood; it had been a long time since McCoy or Scotty had seen Kirk this happy.

One by one the revellers left the Mess Hall for bed or work. Spock moved to take Grayson from Kirk's arms but the boy resisted and threatened to wake up so Uhura suggested that Jim put him to bed tonight. With that resolved, Spock followed McCoy and Scotty down the corridor to catch up on the ship's status before his shift tomorrow.

Kirk and Uhura took the long way to her quarters, catching up on subjects best kept between the three of them. She confirmed to him that distance had not affected their 3-way bond as evidenced by Grayson's greeting. And she promised him that he would have as much access to Grayson as he desired. She committed to managing Spock on this subject.

Kirk completed Grayson's bedtime needs, - a quick bath, a changed diaper and a clean onesie - before placing him in his crib with a good night kiss.

Dimming the bedroom light, she accompanied Jim to the door and, as he turned to say goodnight, she placed a hand on the side of his face near his temple. He knew why.

"I needed to know if you were really o.k."

He gave her a genuine smile; with a light kiss on her forehead, he whispered "I am now." and left.

* * *

Sarek had not been present at Spock's birth, consistent with the Vulcan customs of centuries. Healers had coaxed a reluctant Spock out of his mother's body. But he would support T'Key through her delivery; Uhura shared with him glimpses of Spock's experience at Grayson's birth. Each successful birth was precious, one more step away from extinction's precipice. Sarek studied the healer's materials, took the courses such as there were and prepared for his son's birth.

When Sarek held his new daughter in his arms - the monitors had been incorrect - he could not sort out the experience yet but he knew he had underestimated its impact on all involved. He made sure to bond with his daughter long before her difficult arrival into the world. He would work to make his wife a partner in the journey, not just a womb; he reasoned this would not betray Amanda.

T'Key surprised him - only months after T'Par's birth, she broached the subject with him of a sibling, close enough in age to be a play and study mate. She had not, as he feared, been put off by his involvement, his attempt to experience this adventure with her.

Spock had taught him a great deal in a very short time.

With luck, maybe Sarek would see the return to IDIC in his lifetime.


End file.
